Loans, Payment of Loans, Freezing of Property, Bankruptcy

While I was in the company of the Prophet in one of his Ghazawat, he asked, "What
is wrong with your camel? Will you sell it?" I replied in the affirmative and sold it
to him. When he reached Medina, I took the camel to him in the morning and he paid me its
price.

When we were with Ibrahim, we talked about mortgaging in deals of Salam. Ibrahim
narrated from Aswad that 'Aisha had said, "The Prophet bought some foodstuff on
credit from a Jew and mortgaged an iron armor to him."

Once, while I was in the company of the Prophet, he saw the mountain of Uhud and said,
"I would not like to have this mountain turned into gold for me unless nothing of it,
not even a single Dinar remains of it with me for more than three days (i.e. I will spend
all of it in Allah's Cause), except that Dinar which I will keep for repaying debts."
Then he said, "Those who are rich in this world would have little reward in the
Hereafter except those who spend their money here and there (in Allah's Cause), and they
are few in number." Then he ordered me to stay at my place and went not far away. I
heard a voice and intended to go to him but I remembered his order, "Stay at your
place till I return." On his return I said, "O Allah's Apostle! (What was) that
noise which I heard?" He said, "Did you hear anything?" I said,
"Yes." He said, "Gabriel came and said to me, 'Whoever amongst your
followers dies, worshipping none along with Allah, will enter Paradise.' " I said,
"Even if he did such-and-such things (i.e. even if he stole or committed illegal
sexual intercourse)" He said, "Yes."

Allah's Apostle said, "If I had gold equal to the mountain of Uhud, it would not
please me that it should remain with me for more than three days, except an amount which I
would keep for repaying debts."

A man demanded his debts from Allah's Apostle in such a rude manner that the companions
of the Prophet intended to harm him, but the Prophet said, "Leave him, no doubt, for
he (the creditor) has the right to demand it (harshly). Buy a camel and give it to
him." They said, "The camel that is available is older than the camel he
demands. "The Prophet said, "Buy it and give it to him, for the best among you
are those who repay their debts handsomely. "

I heard the Prophet saying, "Once a man died and was asked, 'What did you use to
say (or do) (in your life time)?' He replied, 'I was a business-man and used to give time
to the rich to repay his debt and (used to) deduct part of the debt of the poor.' So he
was forgiven (his sins.)" Abu Masud said, "I heard the same (Hadith) from the
Prophet."

A man came to the Prophet and demanded a camel (the Prophet owed him). Allah's Apostle
told his companions to give him (a camel). They said, "We do not find except an older
camel (than what he demands). (The Prophet ordered them to give him that camel). The man
said, "You have paid me in full and may Allah also pay you in full." Allah's
Apostle said, "Give him, for the best amongst the people is he who repays his debts
in the most handsome manner."

The Prophet owed a camel of a certain age to a man who came to demand it back. The
Prophet ordered his companions to give him. They looked for a camel of the same age but
found nothing but a camel one year older. The Prophet told them to give it to him. The man
said, "You have paid me in full, and may Allah pay you in full." The Prophet
said, "The best amongst you is he who pays his debts in the most handsome
manner."

I went to the Prophet while he was in the Mosque. (Mis'ar thinks, that Jabir went in
the forenoon.) After the Prophet told me to pray two Rakat, he repayed me the debt he owed
me and gave me an extra amount.

My father was martyred on the day (of the battle) of Uhud, and he was in debt. His
creditors demanded their rights persistently. I went to the Prophet (and informed him
about it). He told them to take the fruits of my garden and exempt my father from the
debts but they refused to do so. So, the Prophet did not give them my garden and told me
that he would come to me the next morning. He came to us early in the morning and wandered
among the datepalms and invoked Allah to bless their fruits. I then plucked the dates and
paid the creditors, and there remained some of the dates for us.

When my father died he owed a Jew thirty Awsuq (of dates). I requested him to give me
respite for repaying but he refused. I requested Allah's Apostle to intercede with the
Jew. Allah's Apostle went to the Jew and asked him to accept the fruits of my trees in
place of the debt but the Jew refused. Allah's Apostle entered the garden of the
date-palms, wandering among the trees and ordered me (saying), "Pluck (the fruits)
and give him his due." So, I plucked the fruits for him after the departure of
Allah's Apostle and gave his thirty Awsuq, and still had seventeen Awsuq extra for myself.
Jabir said: I went to Allah's Apostle to inform of what had happened, but found him
praying the 'Asr prayer. After the prayer I told him about the extra fruits which
remained. Allah's Apostle told me to inform (Umar) Ibn Al-Khatab about it. When I went to
'Umar and told him about it, 'Umar said, "When Allah's Apostle walked in your garden,
I was sure that Allah would definitely bless it."

Allah's Apostle used to invoke Allah in the prayer saying, "O Allah, I seek refuge
with you from all sins, and from being in debt." Someone said, O Allah's Apostle! (I
see you) very often you seek refuge with Allah from being in debt. He replied, "If a
person is in debt, he tells lies when he speaks, and breaks his promises when he
promises."

The Prophet said, "I am closer to the believers than their selves in this world
and in the Hereafter, and if you like, you can read Allah's Statement: "The Prophet
is closer to the believers than their own selves." (33.6) So, if a true believer dies
and leaves behind some property, it will be for his inheritors (from the father's side),
and if he leaves behind some debt to be paid or needy offspring, then they should come to
me as I am the guardian of the deceased."

A man came to the Prophet and demanded his debts and used harsh words. The companions
of the Prophet wanted to harm him, but the Prophet said, "Leave him, as the creditor
(owner of the right) has the right to speak."

A man pledged that his slave would be manumitted after his death. The Prophet asked,
"Who will buy the slave from me?" No'aim bin 'Abdullah bought the slave and the
Prophet took its price and gave it to the owner.

When 'Abdullah (my father) died, he left behind children and debts. I asked the lenders
to put down some of his debt, but they refused, so I went to the Prophet to intercede with
them, yet they refused. The Prophet said (to me), "Classify your dates into their
different kinds: 'Adhq bin Zaid, Lean and 'Ajwa, each kind alone and call all the
creditors and wait till I come to you." I did so and the Prophet came and sat beside
the dates and started measuring to each his due till he paid them fully, and the amount of
dates remained as it was before, as if he had not touched them.

(On another occasion) I took part in one of Ghazawat among with the Prophet and I was
riding one of our camels. The camel got tired and was lagging behind the others. The
Prophet hit it on its back. He said, "Sell it to me, and you have the right to ride
it till Medina.'' When we approached Medina, I took the permission from the Prophet to go
to my house, saying, "O Allah's Apostle! I have newly married." The Prophet
asked, "Have you married a virgin or a matron (a widow or divorcee)?" I said,
"I have married a matron, as 'Abdullah (my father) died and left behind daughters
small in their ages, so I married a matron who may teach them and bring them up with good
manners." The Prophet then said (to me), "Go to your family." When I went
there and told my maternal uncle about the selling of the camel, he admonished me for it.
On that I told him about its slowness and exhaustion and about what the Prophet had done
to the camel and his hitting it. When the Prophet arrived, I went to him with the camel in
the morning and he gave me its price, the camel itself, and my share from the war booty as
he gave the other people.

The Prophet said, "Allah has forbidden for you, (1) to be undutiful to your
mothers, (2) to bury your daughters alive, (3) to not to pay the rights of the others
(e.g. charity, etc.) and (4) to beg of men (begging). And Allah has hated for you (1)
vain, useless talk, or that you talk too much about others, (2) to ask too many questions,
(in disputed religious matters) and (3) to waste the wealth (by extravagance).

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Everyone of you is a guardian, and responsible
for what is in his custody. The ruler is a guardian of his subjects and responsible for
them; a husband is a guardian of his family and is responsible for it; a lady is a
guardian of her husband's house and is responsible for it, and a servant is a guardian of
his master's property and is responsible for it." I heard that from Allah's Apostle
and I think that the Prophet also said, "A man is a guardian of is father's property
and is responsible for it, so all of you are guardians and responsible for your wards and
things under your care."

I heard a man reciting a verse (of the Holy Qur'an) but I had heard the Prophet
reciting it differently. So, I caught hold of the man by the hand and took him to Allah's
Apostle who said, "Both of you are right." Shu'ba, the sub-narrator said,
"I think he said to them, "Don't differ, for the nations before you differed and
perished (because of their differences). "

Two persons, a Muslim and a Jew, quarrelled. The Muslim said, "By Him Who gave
Muhammad superiority over all the people! The Jew said, "By Him Who gave Moses
superiority over all the people!" At that the Muslim raised his hand and slapped the
Jew on the face. The Jew went to the Prophet and informed him of what had happened between
him and the Muslim. The Prophet sent for the Muslim and asked him about it. The Muslim
informed him of the event. The Prophet said, "Do not give me superiority over Moses,
for on the Day of Resurrection all the people will fall unconscious and I will be one of
them, but I will. be the first to gain consciousness, and will see Moses standing and
holding the side of the Throne (of Allah). I will not know whether (Moses) has also fallen
unconscious and got up before me, or Allah has exempted him from that stroke."

While Allah's Apostle was sitting, a Jew came and said, "O Abul Qasim! One of your
companions has slapped me on my face." The Prophet asked who that was. He replied
that he was one of the Ansar. The Prophet sent for him, and on his arrival, he asked him
whether he had beaten the Jew. He (replied in the affirmative and) said, "I heard him
taking an oath in the market saying, 'By Him Who gave Moses superiority over all the human
beings.' I said, 'O wicked man! (Has Allah given Moses superiority) even over Muhammad I
became furious

and slapped him over his face." The Prophet said, "Do not give a prophet
superiority over another, for on the Day of Resurrection all the people will fall
unconscious and I will be the first to emerge from the earth, and will see Moses standing
and holding one of the legs of the Throne. I will not know whether Moses has fallen
unconscious or the first unconsciousness was sufficient for him."

A Jew crushed the head of a girl between two stones. The girl was asked who had crushed
her head, and some names were mentioned before her, and when the name of the Jew was
mentioned, she nodded agreeing. The Jew was captured and when he confessed, the Prophet
ordered that his head be crushed between two stones.

Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever takes a false oath so as to take the property of a
Muslim (illegally) will meet Allah while He will be angry with him." Al-Ash'ath said:
By Allah, that saying concerned me. I had common land with a Jew, and the Jew later on
denied my ownership, so I took him to the Prophet who asked me whether I had a proof of my
ownership. When I replied in the negative, the Prophet asked the Jew to take an oath. I
said, "O Allah's Apostle! He will take an oath and deprive me of my property."
So, Allah revealed the following verse: "Verily! Those who purchase a little gain at
the cost of Allah's covenant and their oaths." (3.77)

Ka'b demanded his debt back from Ibn Abi Hadrad in the Mosque and their voices grew
louder till Allah's Apostle heard them while he was in his house. He came out to them
raising the curtain of his room and addressed Ka'b, "O Ka'b!" Ka'b replied,
"Labaik, O Allah's Apostle." (He said to him), "Reduce your debt to one
half," gesturing with his hand. Kab said, "I have done so, O Allah's
Apostle!" On that the Prophet said to Ibn Abi Hadrad, "Get up and repay the
debt, to him."

I heard Hisham bin Hakim bin Hizam reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way different to that
of mine. Allah's Apostle had taught it to me (in a different way). So, I was about to
quarrel with him (during the prayer) but I waited till he finished, then I tied his
garment round his neck and seized him by it and brought him to Allah's Apostle and said,
"I have heard him reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way different to the way you taught
it to me." The Prophet ordered me to release him and asked Hisham to recite it. When
he recited it, Allah s Apostle said, "It was revealed in this way." He then
asked me to recite it. When I recited it, he said, "It was revealed in this way. The
Qur'an has been revealed in seven different ways, so recite it in the way that is easier
for you."

The Prophet said, "No doubt, I intended to order somebody to pronounce the Iqama
of the (compulsory congregational) prayer and then I would go to the houses of those who
do not attend the prayer and burn their houses over them."

Abu bin Zam'a and Sad bin Abi Waqqas carried the case of their claim of the (ownership)
of the son of a slave-qirl of Zam'a before the Prophet. Sad said, "O Allah's Apostle!
My brother, before his death, told me that when I would return (to Mecca), I should search
for the son of the slave-girl of Zam'a and take him into my custody as he was his
son." 'Abu bin Zam'a said, 'the is my brother and the son of the slave-girl of my
father, and was born or my father's bed." The Prophet noticed a resemblance between
Utba and the boy but he said, "O 'Abu bin Zam'a! You will get this boy, as the son
goes to the owner of the bed. You, Sauda, screen yourself from the boy."

Allah's Apostle sent horsemen to Najd and they arrested and brought a man called
Thumama bin Uthal, the chief of Yamama, and they fastened him to one of the pillars of the
Mosque. When Allah's Apostle came up to him; he asked, "What have you to say, O
Thumama?" He replied, "I have good news, O Muhammad!" Abu Huraira narrated
the whole narration which ended with the order of the Prophet "Release him!"

That 'Abdullah bin Abi Hadrad Al-Aslami owed him some debt. Ka'b met him and caught
hold of him and they started talking and their voices grew loudest. The Prophet passed by
them and addressed Ka'b, pointing out to him to reduce the debt to one half. So, Ka'b got
one half of the debt and exempted the debtor from the other half.

I was a blacksmith In the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, and 'Asi bin Wail owed me
some money. I went to him to demand it, but he said to me, "I will not pay you unless
you reject faith in Muhammad." I replied, "By Allah, I will never disbelieve
Muhammad till Allah let you die and then resurrect you." He said, "Then wait
till I die and come to life again, for then I will be given property and offspring and
will pay your right." So, thus revelation came: "Have you seen him who
disbelieved in Our signs and yet says, 'I will be given property and offspring?' "
(19.77)